THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604260049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By I.F. Walters, Special to The Daily Break
LENGTH: Long : 231 lines
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Earl Vincent Swift.
One, a former first lady, the clear-eyed hero of a terrible weekend frozen in the planet's memory. A generational icon, an international cause celebre, a beloved matriarch. American royalty.
The other, a newspaper writer.
At first blush, there might seem little to bind them. But this week, the personal belongings of both have been placed on the auction block. And in both sales, the stunning values assigned to seemingly everyday possessions have made plain that worth is as much a function of who owns an object, as it is the nature of the object itself.
In New York, Sotheby's saw fantastic sums paid for Onassis's obsolete lighters, unremarkable furniture and forgettable jewelry - the stuff of rummage sales, made magical by its past proximity to greatness.
Likewise, if not for their ownership, Swift's furniture might be dismissed as trash, his artwork as indecent trash, his clothing as cheap, badly worn trash.
But as the gavel falls on the Swift sale today in Norfolk, the fact that the writer's belongings have occupied space in his home - through years that witnessed his journalistic rise, his cult popularity, his job loss - has Hampton Roads collectors eager to spend lavishly for some notable pieces.
They are few: While the Onassis auction offered 1,200 lots - enough to fill a 584-page catalog - the Swift sale amounts to 10 lots.
Swift aficionados point out, however, that the limited offering guarantees that the bidding will break regional records.
We asked Ronn Ives, a celebrated artist and the owner of Futures Antiques, Collectibles and Cultural Artifacts in Norfolk, to examine Swift's belongings, and to offer his insights into what the items can be expected to fetch.
Bear in mind that Ives' estimates are just that. Actual prices may be significantly higher.
LOT 1: A LAMP
Swift holds in high regard the warm, yellow glow of this ``hobby shop'' table lamp, reputedly fashioned by his grandmother in the mid-1930s. For years a prominent fixture of his Willoughby home, the lamp seldom failed to win the notice of visitors.
``It's an unusual piece,'' said Ives, noting the foot-long, glazed parrot that dominates the lamp's base, ``and it's made more valuable by the fact that it works. You don't have to replace the wire or the socket.
``I don't believe it's the original shade, but I do believe it's a shade the family selected for the lamp - which makes it almost as valuable as the original, because the family had to go out shopping for it.''
Pricing the piece will be relatively easy, Ives predicted, in that it ``was made at about the same time as late Tiffany.
``Since it's about the same age, I'd put it at about the same value - conservatively, in the $100,000 to $130,000 range,'' he said. ``If it goes above that at the auction, don't be surprised.''
Lot 2: A knickknack
Swift lived in Alaska for three years, during which he often traveled into the roadless, sparsely populated Bush. One such foray netted this keepsake: a walrus-ivory figurine of a polar bear crouched over a mangled baby seal.
``This is folk art,'' Ives said of the carving. ``Its entire value derives from its ownership.
``It would be a good idea to have it dusted for fingerprints, so that its owner's fingerprints were visible. I really need to know who, exactly, has handled it.
``If Swift himself has touched it, oh gosh - it's real ivory, it's folk art - it's somewhere in the $30,000 to $60,000 range.''
Lot 3: Ike memorabilia
Swift is said to be obsessed with the nation's 34th president - so much so that he refers to women friends as ``Mamie,'' insists his family hails from Kansas, and plays golf.
It is no surprise, then, that among his favorite possessions are this 54-piece jigsaw puzzle of the general in uniform and Dennis Tenney's ``The Song of Eisenhower,'' a 1956 volume of poetry.
``There's entertainment value in the puzzle, because you could still play with it,'' Ives said, examining both pieces, ``but the book is the real treasure here.''
He noted the jacket's frayed edges. ``All of this wear and tear is from Swift reading and rereading, taking the book with him on trips, lending it to friends,'' he said. ``That makes it more valuable.
``Do you know what this stain is? I've read - and I'm sure that you have, too - that Swift is not only a coffee lover but a very emotional man. I'd surmise that he was reading the book, came across a particularly moving passage, and started to weep. And that his tears combined with coffee caught in his moustache, and dropped onto the book.''
The price? Expect the set to go for about $800, Ives said.
Lot 4: A suit
The auction's sole lot of clothing is a two-piece suit and two neckties that Swift is known to have worn in 1994. The suit jacket is a peak-lapel, one-button, unvented design. The matching trousers are uncuffed. Both are constructed of 100 percent polyester, as are the ties.
While the suit was made in Pennsylvania, it appears, Ives said, to be the work of renowned Italian designer Falcone.
``It comes with two original ties, which makes it rarer, because they're meant to be worn at the same time,'' Ives said. ``Falcone was at the point of the avant-garde.
``If you know about fashion history, Rudi Gernreich - who had German ancestry - was the other main fashion influence at the time. While Gernreich felt that less is more, Falcone felt that more is more.
``Naturally, two ties is one solution to that concept.''
Suit and ties are in excellent condition, Ives said, adding that a seeming imperfection - dimples in the polyester caused by wide-spaced hem stitching - is intentional. ``Why hide the hem stitches?'' he asked. ``If more is more, hem stitches can be appreciated.
``Again, let's stay conservative. We have both original ties. Falcone's favorite color. A quarter-million.''
Lot 5: Photo of dog
This framed and matted color print depicts a costume-clad bulldog owned and photographed by Swift's sister, Anne, in 1993.
``Clearly, there's an historical reference to Diane Arbus here,'' Ives commented. ``If you could establish that Swift met Arbus, that she influenced him, and that he passed on that influence to his sister - not only in the way she photographed, but in the way she dressed her dog - then you'd have a chain of admiration.
``Once that's established, this becomes almost as valuable as an Arbus.''
Ives also found promise in several fingerprints on the glass. ``Do not clean those,'' he advised. ``I think you're starting to see now that bodily residue adds greatly to the value of a piece. There is a hierarchy to bodily fluids, I would think - the most valuable being the ones that are of the most value to the body. And the residue that is of the least value to the body would have the least value on the current auction market.''
The photo should sell for $125,000 to $160,000, he said.
Lot 6: Beer coasters
Swift has made no secret of his fondness for beer served in bottles. He has safeguarded his furniture while engaged in this pastime with a large collection of cardboard bar coasters.
``The working man's Faberge eggs,'' Ives said of the items. ``Let's put them at $35 each. They were all used and collected by Swift himself during his travels. End of discussion.''
Lot 7: Childhood paperwork
This collection of papers from Swift's childhood includes his third-grade report card and an international smallpox vaccination certificate of the same vintage.
``Now we're getting into actual documents,'' Ives marveled. ``An actual signature by Swift's mother on the report card. Amazing. And I didn't realize Swift was so good in school.
``This is the lot that may be most important to future generations,'' he said. ``This is the most valuable lot I've seen so far.
``Start the bidding at a quarter-million, and expect it to take off from there. And allow no one to inspect it without those little cotton gloves.''
Lot 8: Two photographs
These 8-by-10-inch black-and-white photos capture Swift at formative junctures. The first depicts Swift about to learn a painful lesson at his first birthday party. The second, from 1961, shows a 3-year-old Swift studying sheep.
``Either one could be the cover of a biography on Swift, so just in terms of publicity value, they're worth a fortune,'' Ives said.
``Both show a great deal of insight into who this young boy would become. We can see that his parents were willing to let him learn certain things for himself.''
Ives harbored ``a little concern about the sheep photo,'' but said he planned to leave interpreting the image ``to historians.''
``I thought the last lot was valuable,'' he said. ``These outdo those. I think I'll be bidding on these.
``I'll tell everybody out there, right now: If they're unwilling to spend at least $200,000, they don't even need to show up. I want both of them, and I want them bad.''
Lot 9: Press passes, a comb
Five items are included in this group. Three are identification cards dating from Swift's early, blissful years in the newspaper business. A fourth is a press card from The Virginian-Pilot. The last is a red plastic pocket comb stamped ``State Farm Insurance Companies.''
``What's interesting,'' Ives said of the cards, ``is that though his appearance has changed a lot - the migration of his hair, the migration of his sense of humor - the signature has remained almost identical.
``Clearly, these will have fingerprints on them, so don't clean them. And don't clean the comb: We don't know what we might find there.''
The items should sell for about $2,000 each, or $5,000 for the lot.
Lot 10: An early essay
A final offering is an attempt at nonfiction narrative Swift undertook at age 8. Entitled ``The Isle of Wight,'' the piece chronicles his family's 1967 vacation in southern England, and is hand-lettered in pencil in a coral-colored exercise book. It is illustrated with pencil sketches by the author.
Ives' hands trembled as he handled the book. ``This is as valuable as, if not more valuable than, the photographs,'' he said. ``Oh, let's just go for it: I say a million two. A million two. The more I look, the more I see, and the higher the price goes.
``Naturally, this would be the best piece, the piece with which you'd want to end the auction. Everything has reached a fever pitch, and then you bring out `The Isle of Wight.' Incredible.
``This is really going to fill in the blanks on Swift,'' he said. ``We may be looking at movie rights.'' MEMO: I.F. Walters is a frequent contributor to The Daily Break under a more
familiar byline: Earl Swift. ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTOS BY BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Eisenhower memorabilia...
A lamp...
An early essay...
A knickknack...
A suit...
Press passes...
Photos by BETH BERGMAN, The Virginian-Pilot
This matted color print depicts a costume-clad bulldog owned by
Swift's sister, Anne. Expected selling price: $125,000 to $160,000.
This picture shows Earl Swift about to learn a painful lesson at his
first birthday party.
If you're not willing to fork over $200,000, you won't take home
this prized photo of Swift studying sheep, or the picture above it.
by CNB